Makes for depressing reading

10 Mar 201904:51am IST

10 Mar 201904:51am IST

The business of selling books over the counter is a tough and at time depressing experience, given the online presence that promises discounts as well as delivers free of cost. Ajit John spoke to various publishers and book retailers to understand the problems and also to understand the fate of Goan book writers in these complicated time

The pleasure of reading a book is akin to inhaling fresh air on

a mountain top. A lung full of
invigorating oxygen reaching those corners never touched before. A good book
full of fresh interesting ideas encourages thinking and debate. The book market
in the country is expected to touch around Rs 730 billion plus by 2020 at a
conservative estimate. Fuelled by new platforms like Amazon and other online
sites, people are buying more books. What about Goa? Has the sale of bookstores
remained steady or slumped due to the emergence of new entertainment platforms?
Or has the sale of books moved online keeping in line with trends in other
parts of the country.

Khalil Ahmed of Broadway was quite categorical when he said,
sales had witnessed an increase over the last six months from the store. Khalil
said” Flipkart has reduced its exposure in this market though Amazon has been
selling used books a lot”. People in Goa he said still walked into the store to
check the books on offer and picked them. Speaking of the online phenomenon, he
said “Please remember it is only the international bestsellers that receive a
great deal of publicity that are purchased online. The discounts are good too
but remember, there are so many good books that you can come across in a book
store only by browsing.”

Asked about the sale of books by Goan authors, he said, it all
happened at book stores and never online. If there was a request for a book by
a Goan author from abroad, it usually came via email. Goan books by Goan
authors or on subjects relevant to the state evoked decent sales. Asked to give
numbers, he said it would not be unusual to sell more than 100 books a week.

The other big store in Panjim, Crossword was witnessing decent
sales though not as per the potential of the market. A sales executive not
cleared to speak to the media said books were being purchased by visitors,
non-resident goans and foreigners. The number of Goans visiting and buying
books remained consistent right through the year, the executive said. With
regards to books by Goan authors, the executive said that did not happen out of
their outlet because they did not stock them.

Rakhee kapur of Literati was candid when she said business had
been affected by the online phenomenon by as much as 30% to 35%. This she said
was her guesstimate. The convenience of delivery coupled with the discounts was
a major plus, especially in a place like Goa where transport was a problem.
Amazon and Flipkart, she said had not made it a level bargaining field.

With regards to Goan authors, she said not much of sale happened
online and if it did it was few and far in between.

Frederick Noronhafounder of the alternate publishing house, Goa
1556 however had a different song to sing. He said “Times have changed, we have
to take books to the people and we have to bring it to them in surroundings
that they are comfortable in. People are reading books in Goa; the young are
reading. People in Goa are reading books by Goan authors and we make this
possible by book launches, exhibitions etc. I have nothing to complain. I focus
on non-fiction books and I am not complaining”. With regards to Konkani books
he was candid when he said it was all over the counter because the idea of
going online was a bit foreign for them.

Leonardo Fernandes of The Dogears Bookshop and Cinnamon Teal
Publishing in Margao said the company had a presence online with some books
present but for a large part it usually happened over the counter. Books by
Goan authors he said would sell very well at the time of its release and then
it tapers off. The company published around 10-15 books every year in English
with a print run of around 500-1000. What must be remembered here is that
almost all the books released in Goa are self-published. At the time of the
launch it is not unusual to sell around 200 copies to friends and neighbours
and to interested libraries. The rest is sold over a period of 5-10 years.

Leonard ended by saying “Goa is a small market, an interesting
market but the challenges are present and it is a fight to stay competitive”

Headline Makes for depressing reading

The business of selling books over the counter is a tough and at
time depressing experience, given the online presence that promises discounts
as well as delivers free of cost. Ajit John spoke to various publishers and
book retailers to understand the problems and also to understand the fate of
Goan book writers in these complicated time

The pleasure of reading a book is akin to inhaling fresh air on
a mountain top. A lung full of invigorating oxygen reaching those corners never
touched before. A good book full of fresh interesting ideas encourages thinking
and debate. The book market in the country is expected to touch around Rs 730
billion plus by 2020 at a conservative estimate. Fuelled by new platforms like
Amazon and other online sites, people are buying more books. What about Goa?
Has the sale of bookstores remained steady or slumped due to the emergence of new
entertainment platforms? Or has the sale of books moved online keeping in line
with trends in other parts of the country.

Khalil Ahmed of Broadway was quite categorical when he said,
sales had witnessed an increase over the last six months from the store. Khalil
said” Flipkart has reduced its exposure in this market though Amazon has been
selling used books a lot”. People in Goa he said still walked into the store to
check the books on offer and picked them. Speaking of the online phenomenon, he
said “Please remember it is only the international bestsellers that receive a
great deal of publicity that are purchased online. The discounts are good too
but remember, there are so many good books that you can come across in a book
store only by browsing.”

Asked about the sale of books by Goan authors, he said, it all
happened at book stores and never online. If there was a request for a book by
a Goan author from abroad, it usually came via email. Goan books by Goan
authors or on subjects relevant to the state evoked decent sales. Asked to give
numbers, he said it would not be unusual to sell more than 100 books a week.

The other big store in Panjim, Crossword was witnessing decent
sales though not as per the potential of the market. A sales executive not
cleared to speak to the media said books were being purchased by visitors,
non-resident goans and foreigners. The number of Goans visiting and buying
books remained consistent right through the year, the executive said. With
regards to books by Goan authors, the executive said that did not happen out of
their outlet because they did not stock them.

Rakhee kapur of Literati was candid when she said business had
been affected by the online phenomenon by as much as 30% to 35%. This she said
was her guesstimate. The convenience of delivery coupled with the discounts was
a major plus, especially in a place like Goa where transport was a problem.
Amazon and Flipkart, she said had not made it a level bargaining field.

With regards to Goan authors, she said not much of sale happened
online and if it did it was few and far in between.

Frederick Noronhafounder of the alternate publishing house, Goa
1556 however had a different song to sing. He said “Times have changed, we have
to take books to the people and we have to bring it to them in surroundings
that they are comfortable in. People are reading books in Goa; the young are
reading. People in Goa are reading books by Goan authors and we make this
possible by book launches, exhibitions etc. I have nothing to complain. I focus
on non-fiction books and I am not complaining”. With regards to Konkani books
he was candid when he said it was all over the counter because the idea of
going online was a bit foreign for them.

Leonardo Fernandes of The Dogears Bookshop and Cinnamon Teal
Publishing in Margao said the company had a presence online with some books
present but for a large part it usually happened over the counter. Books by
Goan authors he said would sell very well at the time of its release and then
it tapers off. The company published around 10-15 books every year in English
with a print run of around 500-1000. What must be remembered here is that
almost all the books released in Goa are self-published. At the time of the
launch it is not unusual to sell around 200 copies to friends and neighbours
and to interested libraries. The rest is sold over a period of 5-10 years.

Leonard
ended by saying “Goa is a small market, an interesting market but the
challenges are present and it is a fight to stay competitive”